Ex-Darebin mayor to capture HSU post

Date: December 21 2012

Clay Lucas

THE bitter and expensive fight for control of the Health Services Union has likely resulted in the election of a candidate in Victoria with links to senior Labor ministers Bill Shorten and Stephen Conroy.

The election result came as MP Craig Thomson (below), the union's former national secretary, again proclaimed his innocence of charges he used union funds for personal expenses, including on prostitutes.

In the Victorian Health Services Union elections, former Darebin Council mayor Diana Asmar - who may soon be named in a damning Ombudsman's investigation of the council - is almost certain to win.

Her victory over former HSU official Marco Bolano in the poll of 11,000 health workers is expected to be declared by the Australian Electoral Commission on Friday. The commission on Thursday would not confirm the result, but Ms Asmar's team and her opponents believed she would win.

The elections were triggered after Mr Shorten went to the Federal Court in June to have the union placed into administration. A key figure in Ms Asmar's campaign was Labor blogger Andrew Landeryou, who is also close to Mr Shorten.

The expected win will follow an ugly campaign by two warring factions within the Right of the Labor Party.

Ms Asmar's team is believed to have posted more than 20 pieces of direct mail to union members, some of it targeted to limited numbers of recipients, in a campaign that Labor figures predicted would cost upwards of $250,000. Mr Bolano's team is likely to have posted six of its own mailouts.

Fairfax Media last week revealed that the Australian Workers Union had a slush fund that bankrolled Ms Asmar's unsuccessful bid for Health Services Union secretary in 2009.

While Ms Asmar's opponents believe the fund was also likely used this time, AWU Victorian secretary Cesar Melhem said last week that ''at this stage'' he would not use the fund to support her.

While Ms Asmar may win the coveted secretary's position of the union's number one branch, it is possible that her team may not win control of the branch committee that governs the union.

Ms Asmar, who did not return calls on Thursday, pledged during the campaign not to reaffiliate the embattled union with the Labor Party. The union left the ALP in 2011.

In Sydney on Thursday, Craig Thomson's lawyer Chris McArdle said an attempt by Fair Work Australia to build its case against his client - by issuing subpoenas to brothels - had come up with nothing.

Fair Work issued nine subpoenas to brothels earlier this month requesting information regarding its Federal Court action against Mr Thomson. The watchdog alleges the New South Wales MP misused union funds when he was national secretary. Mr Thomson denies the claims.

Mr McArdle said four brothels said there was nothing to produce. ''One gentleman actually produced a letter saying he didn't have any records. The others just returned a form saying nothing to produce,'' he told AAP.